Proactive Investors - Calls have come for the government to support Britain’s electric vehicle industry as sales risk missing a mandated target in its first year, despite steep price cuts from carmakers.
Carmakers are set to collectively offer £2 billion worth of discounts this year to buoy sales of electrics, Industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said Friday.
However, sales still risk missing the government’s new mandated target regardless, which requires 22% of cars sold to be electric, placing manufacturers at risk of fines.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes in an open letter, signed by the likes of Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p), Jaguar Land Rover, Ford and BMW, called on chancellor Rachel Reeves to use October’s Autumn Budget to unveil measures to aid the market as a result.
“Despite manufacturers spending billions on both product and market support - support that the industry cannot sustain indefinitely - market weakness is putting environmental ambitions at risk and jeopardising future investment,” he said.
This comes after electric vehicle sales ticked up by 24% last month to a record 56,000, according to SMMT.
The boost was not enough to lift the overall share of new electrics hitting the market above the mandated target though, with this sitting at 17.8% for the year so far.
“Look under the bonnet and there are serious concerns as the market is not growing quickly enough to meet mandated targets,” Hawes added.
After being introduced this year, the mandate is set to increase annually from 22% in 2024 to 80% by 2030, before seeing new petrol and diesel car sales phased out come 2035.